Thanking Them
by Sophiacharlotte
Summary: Caryl AU - oneshot, highschool. Non za.


AN: little one shot. I got the idea from a story I read on Facebook. Let me know what you think :)

I do not own or profit from The Walking Dead

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Merle thought it was hilarious. Merle was such an asshole.

Six months ago, Daryl had moved to this small shithole of a town, Merle was stationed at the local base waiting out his enlistment and their daddy had finally kicked the bucket. Drank himself to death, choking on his own vomit. Good riddance.

So Merle had custody of him now, for another six months anyway until his eighteenth birthday. He'd finally hit his growth spurt last summer, the guidance counsellor at his last school had told him it would happen, Daryl had been hauled in to his office more times than he could count. Bloodied and bruised, the well meaning guidance counsellor had thought Daryl was being bullied. Daryl just let him think it was the bigger boys picking on him, better that than having social services show up at their house again. Pissing the old man off. Not that he'd been popular at school far from it, but nothing the kids could do to him could be worse than anything the old man could think up.

So he'd grown, shot up a few feet, and his shoulders had gotten wider. Merle had called him a pretty boy when he'd picked him up from the bus stop. Merle was an asshole.

But then he'd started at the local high school. Merle had given him his old bike, he'd shown up the first day, and to his surprise, he was popular.

Well maybe not popular, he pretty much kept to himself, but apparently unlike his last school, the girls thought he was "hot" and the guys thought he was cool. He kept to himself and didn't give a fuck about any of it, but then the phone calls started. Giggling girls driving him insane, the offers to go out on Friday nights with the "guys". It was annoying as hell he ignored them all. Merle thought it was hilarious. Merle was an asshole.

He stopped at local park on his way home from school, most of the kids seemed to avoid the place, it was a good place to spend time, until the weekend when Merle was off, and they could go hunting.

He had a book in his jacket pocket, as he made his way into the park to his favourite area. There was a tree just perfect to climb and sit in and read, he hoisted himself up, settling in to grab his book. That's when he saw them.

Sweet Jesus fuck! Had they followed him? A gaggle of the popular girls, lead by the head popular girl Jan. Fuck he hated her the most.

"I know I saw her walking in here...come on." Jan was saying.

Her? What the fuck? He glances toward the water and noticed another figure.

She was small sitting by the water her knees pulled up to her chest, staring out at the lake like she was the loneliest girl in the world. It pulled at his heart for some reason.

He recognized her. She was in two of his classes. She kept to herself too, but unlike him, he was pretty sure the other kids did not leave her alone. Especially the girls he thought with a sigh at Jan's evil laugh when they saw her.

They walked down towards the water, he saw the girl tense when they approached. Fuck she was so tiny compared to those girls. He watched for a moment, as they seemed to taunt her, then one tripped her and she fell in the water. He jumped down from the tree making his way down to the water. He heard Jan smirk "Don't worry maybe your boyfriend will show up to keep you warm on your way home...oh wait you don't have one." Their backs were turned to him. Fuck that bitch.

"Baby.." he said suddenly as the girls heads wiped around to gape at him, he stepped forward to help their victim still sitting in the water. "Baby... you okay? Did you slip? Here let me give you my coat." He helped her up, taking his coat off and wrapping her in it, she was staring up at him in shock, dwarfed in his coat, eyes as blue as the water around them. She was shivering despite being dwarfed by the coat and he did something he never did he drew her to him wrapping his arms around her, murmuring loudly enough for the other girls to hear he whispered "What is she talking about, you don't have a boyfriend? Did we breakup?" He drew back to look at her face, then thought fuck it. He brought his lips down to meet hers.

It was instant fire in his blood, like the water they were standing in suddenly went super heated. He groaned pulling her closer, barely noticing when the confused bullies walked off leaving them alone.

She reached up threading her hands through his hair, and he brought his lips to her neck. "Fuck...sorry." He grunted pulling away slightly, still holding her wrapped in his coat, "I got carried away." He murmured then put his head back down into her neck. "I'm Daryl."

"Carol." She whispered.

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11 years later.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Merle thought it was hilarious, he Daryl Dixon was back for his high school reunion.

He walked through the park, heading towards that spot. That one spot that changed his life.

There she was, Carol, waiting on him by the water. Ten years had changed her so much. She was still tiny and delicate but she was strong, stronger than those bitches she went to school with.

She glowed, with a confidence that was sexy as hell. Sneaking up on her he grabbed her around the waist laughing at her cute as fuck yelp.

"Baby.." he murmured. Grunting as she pushed back rubbing her ass in his groin.

Carol snorted, nuzzling her cheek into the side of head. Daryl had been hunting with Merle that morning while she had slept in. They decided to meet at their spot for lunch.

"Picnic's up in the tree." She murmured, as he found her neck again. "You sure you wanna go to this reunion tonight? She murmured turning in his arms, we could stay at the hotel and have lots more fun." She said wiggling her brows.

He knew she didn't want to go, he wasn't sure why he was pushing it. Maybe he wanted all those assholes to see what she had turned into. This amazing woman that they hadn't broken.

They had been together since that day. He'd followed her when she left town to go to school, how could he not? Since that day, that fateful day, she'd become the single most important part of his life.

He'd found his calling, taking community school, he'd gotten his teaching degree. She'd become a writer, and she'd been published. He was so fucking proud of her he wanted to shout it to the world. He wanted to make it permanent and forever that she was his. He'd planned to do this at the reunion, maybe, but now suddenly the moment was perfect. Pulling the ring out of his pocket, he slid in front of her view, smiling as he heard her little gasp. Sliding it on her finger as she was nodding her head yes.

He knew tonight they wouldn't make it to the reunion. Fuck they'd be lucky if they made it to lunch tomorrow with Merle. He grunted as she slid her hand down to his ass. At this rate they wouldn't make it to their tree.

But maybe he'd have to track Jan and her minions down, not to rub it in their faces how great Carol was and how their lives had turned out. Maybe he should be thanking them.


End file.
